China's energy storage
battery market developed vigorously in 2017 and will begin to grow rapidly from
2018. The middle kingdom drives to be the leader in new energy production and
storages.
The
Chinese government aims to increase its large-scale energy storage capacity
over the coming years. So far, the country generated a total of 5.9 trillion
kWh of energy in 2016, a quarter of which was generated by green energy methods
like hydro, wind, nuclear and solar power stations.
Energy
storage technology, which is mostly developed in the USA but manufacturers in
China, helps to preserve renewable power when the demand is lower than the
supply and save it for distribution when consumption gets higher again.
Sufficient storage would prevent power generation being curtailed due to
surplus supplies.
China's
electric power network is the biggest one in the world. Home to some of the
largest wind and solar farms globally, China has set aggressive renewable
energy targets to further grow
clean sources of energy. Currently, China has a total 90 of electrochemical
battery energy storage projects either in operation, under construction or
planned with a total capacity of 90MW.
To
capture most of the energy storage business, China has told its battery
manufacturers to double their production capacity by 2020, created hurdles for
foreign competitors and introduced subsidies for both electric cars and
batteries. The country’s 13th five-year plan, which guides policy through 2020,
guarantees a payout if manufacturers meet targets. Its battery industry also
benefits from domestic lithium mining and mass electric-vehicle manufacturing.
According
to market intelligence firm CCM, China's energy storage battery market
developed vigorously in recent years. In 2017, the output of energy storage
batteries increased by 13% YoY, and the corresponding output value was rising
up by 7% YoY. Though its future potential is predictable, the energy storage
battery market is still restricted by relevant policies, pricing, electricity
supply, among others. That is to say, energy storage batteries are still
applied in a small range of areas. Its production capacity and growth rate both
remain relatively small. Currently, the China-made energy storage battery is mainly
used in communication base station, user-side peak shaving, off-grid power
station, micro-grid, rail transit and UPS.
However,
according to CCM, China's energy storage battery segment is now in a critical
period. This year, 2018, will be a start for its rapid development.
First
of all, the energy storage guideline has been issued, a move intended to speed
up its commercialized application. In Oct. 2017, 5 government departments
jointly released the Guidelines to
Facilitate the Energy Storage Technology and Industry Development, which is
a state level plan for the energy storage battery business. It, aimed at
accelerating the growth of energy storage battery business, consists of 2
phases and 10 years.
Secondly,
the development of power battery business contributes to the growing energy
storage battery. In China, the alternative energy vehicle industry is
developing rapidly, which is a reason for the performance improvement and price
falls of power batteries. In the meantime, the integration of new energy
vehicle and distributed energy storage starts, a movable charger is an
effective measure to ease the current deficiency in charging points. In 2018,
large quantities of power Li-ion batteries will be scrapped, which can be
dismantled and remade into energy storage batteries. The integration of power
Li-ion batteries and energy storage batteries will enable the improvement in
battery performance and meanwhile the accelerated reduction in cost.
The
period, from 2015 to 2017, witnessed frequent expansions of power battery
production capacity along with structural overcapacity. As of the end of 2017,
the effective production capacity of power battery throughout the country was
110 GWh and would exceed 160 GWh by the end of 2018. However, the utilization
rate is now less than 40%. In regard to the demand from buyers, they are
increasing their demand for power battery performance. This will force battery
manufacturers unable to meet the requirements to seek for other application
fields such as energy storage which, compared to power battery has lower
requirements on battery performance, so as to increase the utilization of
production capacity.
Thirdly,
the requirements on the energy storage battery performance such as safety,
lifespan and efficiency are being quantized. Under this, the R&D and
production of energy storage batteries will be clearer.
Lastly,
the energy revolution is promoting the establishment of energy internet where
energy storage is a key technical support. Energy internet, based on "Internet
+ Intelligent Energy", is an advanced form of energy exploitation and
utilization, and energy storage is a hub for energy conversion and utilization.
The energy storage battery is excelling chemical battery such
as lead-acid battery, lead-carbon battery and sodium-sulfur battery,
due to its excellent performance such as high energy density, long lifespan and
high rate discharging.
About the article
The
information for this article comes from CCM, China’s leading market
intelligence provider for the fields of chemicals, energy, agriculture, food
and feed.
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out more about China’s new energy market by subscribing to CCM’s monthly
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